College Football Power Rankings: Week 2
Season: 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
Week: Preseason | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
Week: Preseason | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
For the second straight week, USC is the No. 1 team in the power rankings. Will the Trojans keep the top spot after Saturday's showdown with Ohio State?
USC picked up 14 of the 15 first-place votes, while Georgia grabbed the remaining vote. Rounding out the top five are Oklahoma, Florida and Missouri. The biggest mover this week is East Carolina, which upset West Virginia to gain 11 spots, jumping from No. 25 to No. 14.| College Football Power Rankings: Week 2 | |||||
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | COMMENTS | |
 | 1 | USC (10) | 1-0 | 342 | What knee injury? Mark Sanchez lived up to the hype vs. Virginia. Now the Trojans and their QB have two weeks to prepare for OSU. |
 | 2 | Ohio State (3) | 1-0 | 320 | The countdown has begun: 11 days until Ohio State visits USC. The Buckeyes can only hope Beanie Wells will be on the field Sept. 13. |
 | 3 | Georgia (1) | 1-0 | 317 | The Bulldogs can't afford many more injuries after losing DT Jeff Owens for the season. Their difficult schedule won't be forgiving. |
 | 4 | Florida | 1-0 | 308 | Eight TDs in 26½ minutes vs. Hawaii? Without Percy Harvin? The "U" is next, and it's been a 23-year win drought. (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET). |
 | 5 | Oklahoma | 1-0 | 305 | The scrimmage against Chattanooga went as planned (minus the lightning-and-rain show). Will Cincinnati provide a tougher test (ABC, 3:30 ET)? |
 | 6 | Missouri | 1-0 | 288 | Mizzou hung 52 on Illinois, and the scoreboard could explode for even more in the next three: SE Missouri State, Nevada and Buffalo. |
 | 7 | LSU | 1-0 | 260 | How's this for domination? Since becoming LSU's coach, Les Miles is 15-0 against nonconference teams, outscoring them 540-123. |
 | 8 | West Virginia | 1-0 | 246 | Pass-happy WVU? Pat White played the part well vs. Villanova, but potential BCS buster East Carolina provides a stiffer test (ESPN, 4:30 ET). |
 | 9 | Auburn | 1-0 | 217 | OC Tony Franklin said his QBs looked "blah" and "average" in Week 1. Time to rethink the two-QB system when Southern Miss visits? |
 | 10 | Texas | 1-0 | 216 | Colt McCoy became the second Horn to pass for 200 yards and run for 100 in multiple games. He has done it twice. The other? Vince Young. |
 | 11 | Alabama | 1-0 | 199 | Raise your hands if you saw that coming. Alabama's pounding of Clemson has the Tide thinking big this season. |
 | 12 | Texas Tech | 1-0 | 185 | Tech set a school record in its opener, but it's not the kind Mike Leach wants to see again: Eighteen penalties for 169 yards. |
 | 13 | Wisconsin | 1-0 | 172 | P.J. Hill wants to remove the "injury-prone" tag and play in 13 games. If he does, he'll provide his share of Heisman-worthy performances. |
 | 14 | Oregon | 1-0 | 145 | The talk has been about the QBs for much of the preseason, but the Ducks' D allowed only 242 total yards to Jake Locker & Co. |
 | 15 | Brigham Young | 1-0 | 142 | The nation's longest win streak (11) and a 13-game home winning streak remain intact despite a sloppy second half vs. Northern Iowa. |
 | 16 | Arizona State | 1-0 | 127 | The first of four home games to start the season was a success. But ASU needs steady improvement because Georgia visits Sept. 20. |
 | 17 | South Florida | 1-0 | 116 | Think USF was focused? The Bulls rushed for 300 yards against overmatched Tennessee-Martin and didn't need Matt Grothe in the second half. |
 | 18 | Penn State | 1-0 | 114 | Daryll Clark passed his first test as the new QB vs. Coastal Carolina. A tougher test awaits at Oregon State (ABC, 3:30 ET). |
 | 18 | Kansas | 1-0 | 114 | La. Tech visits in what should be another warm-up game before the Jayhawks hit the road for South Florida on Sept. 12. |
 | 20 | Wake Forest | 1-0 | 76 | Steady as she goes at Wake Forest. With the league looking wide open, Jim Grobe could have the Deacons in another BCS bowl. |
 | 21 | Fresno State | 1-0 | 70 | It was slow going in the first half, but "Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere" won out at Rutgers. Next up: a home game against Wisconsin on Sept. 13. |
 | 22 | Utah | 1-0 | 61 | Turns out Brian Johnson runs the spread offense better than anyone in Maize and Blue. The Utes have their home opener next weekend against UNLV. |
 | 23 | California | 1-0 | 38 | It took a while, but Cal finally put Sparty away on Shane Vereen's 81-yard TD run. Up next is the Pac-10 opener at Washington State. |
 | 24 | South Carolina | 1-0 | 28 | Out went Tommy Beecher, in came Chris Smelley. Smelley gets the start Thursday night (ESPN, 8:30 ET) against Vanderbilt. |
 | 25 | Clemson | 0-1 | 27 | Steamrolled by Alabama in the opener, the Tigers must take solace in the fact that they can still take the ACC. They should get back on the horse against FCS Citadel. |
 | 25 | East Carolina | 1-0 | 27 | The Pirates can't bask in the glory of beating Virginia Tech for too long. West Virginia comes to town Saturday (ESPN, 4:30 ET). |
| Others receiving votes: Illinois(21), UCLA(10), Colorado(8), TCU(8), Bowling Green(5), Arizona(5), Tennessee(4), Cincinnati(4), Florida State(3), Notre Dame(2), Pittsburgh(1) |
INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Good luck finding any real flaws in senior QB Tim Tebow's -- or Florida's -- game.
Ivan and Beano discuss their bucket list, which for Beano starts in Baton Rouge. Podcast: Ivan & Beano 
